


Behind the Scenes

by Punzel23



Category: Claire and Melendez, Good doctor, Melendaire - Fandom
Genre: Claire Browne - Freeform, F/M, Neil Melendez - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23561401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punzel23/pseuds/Punzel23
Summary: Missing scenes to fill in the blanks of what happened between Neil and Claire
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 28
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Good Doctor fanfic, feedback is welcome :)

“I’m sorry you’ve had to waste your time dealing with this but there really isn’t…” Neil responded after Audrey asked if he had told his residents not to come to her. She cut him off,  
“Neil. I’m not wasting my time. You do have an issue. And you’ve got to stop pretending you don’t.” she said before turning to walk away. Neil stood there for a moment, not sure what exactly she meant by it before hitting the elevator button to go down. Standing there he turned around and went into Audrey’s office. As he opened the door she looks up from her desk. He sits his bag down in her chair as he ask “What do you mean I have an issue?” his forehead crinkled and hands resting on his hips. Audrey wants to laugh but holds it in. She puts her hand over her face to compose herself before speaking. Neil is still standing in front of her waiting on an answer. “I wasn’t telling my residents not to use the chain of command. They’re competitive and ambitious and I wanted them to understand if they have a concern it’s important to address it with me first to give me the opportunity to explain or respond and then they can go to you or whomever they choose. It’s no different from if I went around you to directly to Glassman.” Audrey sits back in her chair. He honestly doesn’t see it and is offended that she has told him that he has a problem. “I can appreciate that” she says with a nod. “So I don’t’ understand then what problem I’m pretending not to have” he replies the frustration evident on his face. “Claire” Audrey tells him. “Dr. Browne is a smart, talented surgeon who has proven herself several times. Am I supposed to ignore that and go with another idea that I’m sure won’t work because she gave a good one?” Neil asked his eyebrows furrowed.   
“No, of course not.” She said as she got up out of her chair and walked around to the front of the desk leaning on it. “So what am I doing wrong?” He asked as he held his hands up and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong,” she paused trying to carefully select her next words, “it’s,” she began but paused again. “It’s what?” Neil asked intently waiting on her reply. “I don’t think that it is intentional at all, in fact I don’t even know that either of you realize it, but you and Claire interact differently that with anyone else.”   
“What’s that mean?” Neil asked rolling his eyes. “Are you attracted to Claire?” Audrey asked   
A flash of shock went across Neil’s face, “She’s my resident” he replied. “Yes, but that doesn’t answer the question.” Audrey responds. “Yes, it does. She is my resident” Neil said again. “That’s the problem Neil! The two of you have this gravity that makes it seem as though you’re the only two in the room” Audrey blurted out. Once the words left her mouth, she realized she probably sounded like a jealous ex. “That’s ridiculous. A man and woman can’t have a platonic friendship?” he asked now irritated. “When Harry met Sally”? she replied with a chuckle. Neil didn’t find it humorous, “What?” he asked. “Nothing.” She said as she stood and walked back around to her seat. “You may not want to admit it to yourself Neil, but you have feelings for her” she said looking back at him again. “Does this have something to do with us?” he asked motioning his hand between the two of them. “God no” Audrey replied shaking her head. “What we had is in the past. I’m not jealous, in fact even prior to us I could see the connection you had with Claire. The two of you are cut from the same cloth.” She replied with a forced smile. Neil shook his head, “have a good night Dr. Lim” he told her as he turned to leave. 

Neil sat at the bar hashing over in his head the conversation with Audrey. A few minutes later, Claire walks in and takes a seat beside him. He looks over at her.   
“This is not you and it’s not right. We can be friends and have it not be weird.” She told him matter-of-factly.  
“It’s already weird. I’m not going to stay.” He replied putting his hand on his coat  
“You don’t have to run away because I’m here” she told him frustrated.  
“I’m not running, I’m being professional”  
“You’re not being professional. You’re overcompensating and it’s hurting things. It got Park and I in an argument. That’s not how I want to be mentored. That’s not who you are, at least it’s not who I thought you were” She replied her tone somewhere between annoyance and pleading.  
“Enjoy your dinner.” He told her as he paid for his drink and got up to leave.   
Claire sat there and stared. “Unbelievable” she thought to herself. “Everyone tells you to find a good mentor. Apparently, there are stipulations on it” she said taking a sip of her drink. She knew he’d be here. It’s why she decided to show up. He already cancelled their runs together to keep “professional distance” and she decided this would be her last plea to fight for their friendship. “So much for that” she shook her head.   
Neil walked out to his car and put the key in the ignition. Was he attracted to Claire? Did he treat her differently? He knew she was special, and different but was he pretending he didn’t feel differently about her? He sat there and the questions ran through his mind. Regardless of how he felt about her, she had consistently pointed out their relationship was platonic, and he respected those boundaries. Afterall, he was also her boss and crossing those lines were a gray area. He refused to let people’s perception change their friendship and decided to go back inside.   
Walking back in, she was still sitting there, and he caught himself thinking about how beautiful she looked but pushed the thought away. “Two menus’ please” he asked the bartender as he sat back down. Claire looked over and gave a huge smile. Neil smiled and passed her one of the menus and the looked them over and enjoyed some small talk while they decided what to order. She didn’t ask why he came back in, in fact you wouldn’t have known the evening started out awkward at all. Things were easy and natural when the two of them were together. As they finished the bartender sat the check down and Neil reached for it. “I’ve got it” Claire offered. “I’ve got this one” Neil smiled. “Well at least let me pay for my part” Clair said pulling out her wallet and getting some cash. “It’s my apology, if you want to leave the tip you can” he replied with a sheepish grin. “Ok, I can do that” she told him with a smile, thankful that he came back in. They got up and walked out of the restaurant. “I’ll see you tomorrow” he said turning towards her. Claire tilted her head and smiled as she pushed her hair back. “See you tomorrow” she replied turning to go to her car. 

The next day they met at the track for a run. Claire was happy that things weren’t awkward anymore. Running had become a huge stress relief for her she didn’t realize until she had missed a couple days of her regular schedule just how much it helped.


	2. Chapter 2

The day seemed to last forever. They had an interesting patient who seemed to change his story but they couldn’t figure out why. First he was a drinker then he wasn’t. He knew how to skateboard then he didn’t. She was working with Morgan under Dr. Andrews.  
“So, you and Melendez back to sneaking around again?” Morgan asked as they monitored the patient. “I hear he’s back to being a good mentor. Apparently, my complaint changed nothing.”  
Claire looked over surprised.   
“You? Park said he did it?” Claire said  
“Park said that to get you to focus on work. Good motive, bad judge of character” Morgan responded.  
“And you don’t like that Melendez is back to being a good mentor?” Claire asked annoyed.  
“I don’t like that he likes you. I don’t like that because he likes you Shaun, Park and I are second class residents.” She said as she went through the clipboard.  
Claire looked back at the computer. “For someone who is as cynical as you are, you are shockingly naïve.” Morgan rolled her eyes. Claire continued, “I’ll tell you what you did. You threw a bomb because you felt slighted. You made Melendez doubt himself and his judgement. You made him resent you, Shaun, Park and me.” 

Morgan looked over, “Ild like to think it’s that easy to change the status quo but I am pretty naïve” she said factiously as she went back to writing. Claire was annoyed but wasn’t going to comment again when the patient spoke up. “I’m with Dr. B on this one” he said smiling. Claire looked over “Sorry, I thought you were asleep. Office politics.” That’s when they realized that the patient was still asleep even though he was having a conversation with them. 

Claire went to get a snack and ran into Melendez downstairs. “It was Morgan” Claire blurted out rolling her eyes. “I should’ve known that” she said scoffing. Neil shook his head. “since the track is under public scrutiny you want to go bowling tonight?” he asked. Claire looked over at him. “Yeah, that sounds fun” she replied happily. “To make Morgan feel better I’ll disagree with you over something later” Neil chuckled. Claire looked at him curiously and he gave her his signature wink that if she were honest, made her melt. 

A short time later, Morgan and Claire went back up to the conference room to search for a solution. Andrews entered, “Where do we stand with the two Aiden’s?”   
“Between the two alters they engage in about every single behavior” Morgan replied.   
“Ok then we go back to Dr. Lim’s list”  
“Maybe we should be looking at Paraneoplastic syndromes? Claire brought up  
“You may want to consider psychiatric issues” Melendez spoke up from his desk where he was working.   
Clare looked over her shoulder towards him. “He could be having psychotic or dissociative episodes.” Melendez finished. “I have a fair amount of experience with people with psychiatric issues, if he had psychosis, I would have picked up on it.” She said looking at Andrews and then back towards Melendez. Melendez gestured as if to say “ok.”   
Morgan brought up some possible issues that Claire then rebutted. As Claire was explaining her rebuttal, Melendez came to the entry of his door and interrupted her. “Actually, our personal experiences make us less effective in spotting symptoms.” He said standing with his arms crossed. Claire looked over at him. “You know I always make an effort to be as objective as possible”   
“well, you’re not this time” he responded. Morgan looked at Andrews uncomfortably.  
“The vast majority of paraneoplastic syndrome’s present with antibodies.” He took the chart and looked. “His labs show a normal serum count” he said looking back at her.   
“The vast majorities don’t have dueling entities. All diseases don’t preset with competing entities day and night”   
“I’m just giving you an idea” Melendez brushed off  
“No, you’re undermining mine.” Claire shot back.

“Fine. Your idea is brilliant, go waste your time on it.” He responded  
“Thank you both.” Andrews interrupted. Marcus was rattled by very few things. A Melendez/Browne fight was one of them though. “Get an MRI, rule out brain tumors and MS. get a full panel and check for paraneoplastic syndromes” he instructed and then looked Melendez’s way, “and a psych consult” he finished before leaving making sure he gave a nod to both Claire and Melendez’s ideas. Claire bit her lip and looked annoyed. Morgan shifted uncomfortably. “Guess we should get started” Claire said taking the file and heading for the door.

Morgan did a blood panel and took it over to the lab while Claire scheduled the MRI. Claire met Morgan in the patients room to take him down for the MRI. As the waited Claire commented how the patient was sabotaging himself. Morgan looks over “It’s not sabotage, it’s a part of who he is.” “Well some parts of who we are suck” Claire responded bluntly. They both looked forward again in an awkward silence. Morgan was the first to break. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ratted on you and Melendez. I screwed things up. But this guy needs a drink every now and then” she said as they continued the scan. “Dr. Melendez is just a mentor. I can’t help that he’s a man and just because he’s a man doesn’t mean that there HAS to be something going on.” Claire explained as they saved the MRI results. “I’m not saying that it’s because he’s a male and you are a female. I’m saying based on the way that he looks at you, he likes you beyond a mentor relationship.” Morgan replied. Claire rolled her eyes and got up to get the patient. Neil didn’t have feelings for her, not like that. Besides, she would ruin it if he did. She wasn’t the relationship type and wasn’t even sure she knew how to have a healthy one. 

Morgan and Claire went into Dr. Andrews office to discuss how to procced. Aiden didn’t want to give consent for the surgery he needed. Morgan suggested they appeal to his “other” side as they came up with an idea of how to get Aiden to realize that he needed to have it done. 

It had been a long day and Claire was exhausted. She went into the locker room to change out of her scrubs. “Wanna go grab a drink?” Morgan asked as she grabbed her bag. “Thanks, but I think I’m just done for today” Claire replied with a tired smile. “Have a good Night” Morgan replied as she left. Clare got her stuff together and went to her car. Before starting it she pulled up her text to type “On my way .” Neil smiled as the text came through, he sent back a thumbs up emoji with a smiley face.


	3. Chapter 3

Walking into the bowling alley there were lights all around, she quickly spotted Neil and headed over. “Morgan buy the fight?” he asked as he handed her shoes. “Is it weird how hard we have to hide a platonic friendship?” Claire asked “Very, but it’s worth it” Neil replied taking a sip of his beer.   
“You first” he said as he sat in the scoring chair and watched. A smile creeped across his face as he watched her get the ball and walk towards the lane. Her first try she knocked down two pins. “Not bad” Melendez commented with a chuckle. “I’m warming up” Claire teased. She went for her second attempt and it was a gutter. She made a sour face as she turned around. “God she’s adorable” Neil thought to himself as he covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. Claire laughed seeing the glimmer in his eye. “You’re up” she sat in the chair now and watched. Melendez walked up to the lane extended his arm out and then forward but turned to walk back before the ball had reached the end. Claire moved her head so she could see around him. *STRIKE* came across the board and the sound of the ball knocking down all the pins. “What?!” Claire asked in mock offense. “Precision” Neil shrugged. Claire playfully smacked his arm. “Hey!” he pretended to be hurt. Claire walks up for her next turn and it’s a gutter. She turns around and scrunches up her nose. “You know, if it would be helpful, I can get them to put up the rails” Neil told her as seriously as he could. “ha ha ha” she stuck her tongue out. “I’ve got this, I’m just letting you get a start” she told him picking up the ball again and looking over her shoulder. Neil shrugged, “ok” as he laughed. Her next try she knocked down all but two. Walking back towards him she stuck out her tongue again as he applauded her accomplishment. He grabbed his ball and went up to the lane, once again there was the crashing of the ball and pins as they all fell. “What?!” Claire mouthed as he turned around and caught her shocked face. “Are you in a league or something?” She asked curiously. “No” he laughed taking a sip of his beer. “In fact it’s been a while since I’ve played’ “Ugh!” Claire said as she went back up for her next turn. “Hey, you could try granny bowling it” Neil offered. Claire ignored his comment and was able to get a split. “Nice” he replied as she came back to her seat. “Lets see you granny bowl it” Claire said jokingly. She never thought he would. Neil walked up, cradled the ball and granny bowled it. He still managed to knock down all but one pin. Claire covered her face, “I don’t know how but I think you’re cheating” she laughed. By the end of the night his score far outweighed hers. “I’m going to want a rematch” Claire told him as they changed their shoes. “Maybe you should accept that I’m just better at this” Neil offered. “You wish. Next time I’ll be prepared” she smiled. “I bet you will” he shook his head. 

The next day, Claire and Shaun were on Melendez rotation. They met with the patient to discuss her symptoms and issues. Coming out of the room, Melendez advises them to “set up in the lounge and get me copies of each of those…” but he’s interrupted as someone calls “Claire.” She looks over “Dash! What are you doing here?” she smiles “You changed your number” he replies. “Right, it’s a long story” she replies. “Dash you remember Dr. Melendez, Dr. Murphy” she reintroduces them. Melendez nods and then looks to the side. “Of course, you gave my wife 6 more good months. We considered re-naming our cat after you” Dash replies. “That would have been foolish, cats remember their names” Shaun said awkwardly. “Im sorry for your loss, I wish we could have done more” Melendez replied. “We’ll let you two catch up” he said as he motioned for Shaun to follow him. Claire smiled as Dash looked at her. It was nice to see a friendly face. He gave her a hug. Melendez looked back as he waited on the elevator. He saw the happiness on Claire’s face and had the strangest feeling of his heart being ripped out of his chest. While they are discussing the case, Shaun talks about his love life and falling in love with someone you know. Melendez explains it is something that happens over time. Not something someone just does. That’s what has happened with him and Claire. Over time it’s just happened, and he didn’t realize it until today. 

Later, he goes to check on Claire and sees her sitting in the locker room with a shoe box. Maybe he misread her interaction with Dash. Something inside him had to check and see. “New kicks won’t help you out run me.” He joked. She looked over. “They’re recipes from Dash, well from Kayla by way of Dash. It’s complicated” she said taking a deep breath. “He asked me on a date” she says as she looks over and closing the shoe box. Neil feels his stomach drop. “uh” he sits down beside her “What did you say?” he asked. “Nothing. I stammered and then I fled’ she explained. Neil laughed. Truth be told, it made him feel good that she didn’t answer. Now though, he had to be mentor that she needed to talk to, not the guy who had feelings for her. “What did you want to say?” he asked his heart on the verge of breaking. “I don’t know” Claire covered her face with her hands rubbing her eyes. “Shaun was right, coming home to an empty apartment really sucks” she replied. Neil nodded. “I used men to make me feel better, most of them didn’t mind. But I.. don’t trust myself not to hurt someone I care about” she said looking over at him. She wasn’t really sure this had to do with Dash or if it was her opportunity to open up to Neil. “It’s not that complicated’ he replied. “You lit up this morning when you saw him. He seems to make you happy. You deserve to be happy” he told her. “Have a good night” he smiled as he got up to leave. 

The next night Claire planned to make dinner with Dash. It was horrible, and they both laughed at just how bad it was. It was fun to laugh with a friend though. She realized though during this that she felt very differently about Dash than she did Neil.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it may seem weird that he is so open with Audrey, but I'm convinced that they've moved past a "romantic" relationship into friends. I wasn't a big fan of their romance as it seemed to come out of nowhere and i still don't see the chemistry. I think they slept together drunk, then she got sick and he found feelings from there. I may be wrong, just my thoughts. Anyway... I do think that they would still be friends and that even she has seen the tension between him and Claire (similar to that awkward elevator scene).

The next morning Claire walks into Neil’s office with a look of concern. “Dr. Melendez” she says after slowly opening the door. Neil looks up “Hey” he smiles. “Shaun hasn’t arrived yet, I’d like to go and get him if it’s ok. He is having some issues, apparently, he told Lea he loved her and she shut him down” she explained with a frown. “Sure. Just get back fast” he replied as she quickly exited. Claire was a mix of competitive but compassionate. Any other resident would have let Shaun stay away and relished in handling the case themselves. 

Later that night he, Shaun and Claire was trying to come up with a solution for their patient. Clarie threw several ideas out and Shaun shot down each one. He had been in a bad mood all day long. Neil stayed out of it as Shaun interrupted Claire letting her stand her own ground. “Ok well, come up with something outside the box” Melendez commented. “That’s a stupid expression and you are wasting valuable time just because you are trying to be nice to her” Shaun replied getting irritated. Shaun could see (and had for a long time) the attraction between Claire and Melendez. It typically didn’t bother him but now that he had been rejected, it did. Claire rolled her eyes “Murphy” Melendez tried to interrupt. “We should do the cerebellum surgery before he has..” Shaun continued. “Murphy” Melendez said again more sternly. “I am not being nice. I’m using my experience and judgment to make the call. That’s my job.” Neil calmly explained. “You are being nice” Shaun replied bluntly. “And you’re being a jerk.” Neil shot back irritated now by Shaun. “You’ve got the night if you tow can’t come up with a solution by morning we will proceed with the original plan” he told them both before turning to leave. He felt bad, he knew that Murphy was going to be impossible but all he could do was give them the chance to work it out. Claire didn’t feel like he was being nice and was relieved that he didn’t just shoot her down because Shaun was accusing him of it. 

Claire tried to come up with several solutions, but each one Shaun shut down without offering a solution of his own. “Shaun I’ve always supported you” she told “You supported me when you thought I was right” Shaun replied as he got up to leave. Claire tried to ask Park and Reznick, “what do you guys think?” Morgan sat uncomfortably for a second before Park told her they had to go. “We do?” he showed her the file and they got up to leave. Claire felt like she was being exiled by the other residents. Even Shaun was seemingly jumping on the bandwagon of Melendez being nice to her. She knew that Shaun was hurt and just acting out, but it still bothered her. She tried to step back and see if from another perspective but still didn’t understand their logic. 

Claire continued to push through; Melendez came back feeling bad that he knew Shaun was not going to be any help. “Make any progress?” He asked. “Yeah, I figured out a lateral approach but Shaun thinks it would leave his spine unstable and cause a stroke” she explained. “Yeah, I agree” Melendez added. “Me too” Claire lamented. A nurse came to the door and interrupted. “Dr Browne, these just came for you” Claire looked up surprised as the nurse stood there with flowers and sat them on the table. “Dash is a romantic. Thought you hated romantics” Neil commented. Claire smiled widely as she looked at the card and flowers. “Yeah, he’s teasing me. I told him I thought guys who sent flowers were lame” she laughed. She put her face to them and breathed deeply. “We haven’t even kissed yet’ she admitted. Neil was surprised. “What are you waiting for?” he asked. In his mind he was sorting hoping it would cause her to say because she wasn’t sure, she felt something for him. Claire looked over “I don’t know. I enjoy being with him. I actually forgot how funny he is. Just hasn’t seemed like the right time.” She explained. She refused to admit it but those differences were actually what she felt between Neil and Dash. Neil was her boss though, her mentor and she couldn’t just cross that line. Melendez changed the subject “Actually I’m more worried about stroke risk than instability so focus on fixing that” he said as he got up. “And Claire, if he’s the right guy stop holding out for the right time” he told her before he left. He needed her to make the move to say she could be interested in more, he couldn’t. Worst case, if he did push her towards Dash at least she’d still be happy. 

He walked into Audrey’s office. “Hey” she smiled. “Hey” he slumped down in a chair. “What’s wrong?” she asked concerned. “I have feelings for Claire” he admitted, and she could tell he just came to the conclusion. “What makes you say that? I mean, I’d like to start of with I told you so but, what happened to make you say that” she asked. “Remember her friend Dash? His wife had cancer?” Neil asked. “Yeah, I remember the case” Audrey replied. “He came to see her about a week ago .and I just…” he holds his hands up before letting them fall. “I don’t know when it happened, and I know that it can’t go there” He explained. Audrey let out a slight laugh. “What’s funny?” he asked “Nothing. Sorry. It’s sort of funny that you’re just now realizing it when everyone around the two of you have seen it. And I say that as a friend, not as the Chief of Surgery” she smiled. “Maybe she’ll be happy with Dash and we’ll just move on from there. That’ll fix everything” Neil said. “Will it?” Audrey asked. “You should let her know how you feel. Don’t let her settle for one thing because she doesn’t know. Again- as your friend” she offered. “I’m not supposed to feel this way though. I’m her resident, if she doesn’t feel the same way I look like the mentor who tried to take advantage of her.” Neil admitted. “I’m willing to bet money that’s not how it will turn out” Audrey told him. “Just think about it. I’m not saying you have to date but tell her how you feel.” She finished as she patted his shoulder and headed out. 

Later that night Claire met with Dash to go to a club and listen to a band. They had a good time, as the evening came to a close, she explained she had an early surgery so she had to get going. “Okay, goodnight,” Dash said as he went to walk away. She needed to know if there was a spark between them or not. Claire grabbed his arm and pulled him back before playing her hands on his face and kissing him. “Goodnight” she smiled before getting in the car. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He was definitely a friend and not a romantic interest. As she started the car and drove home, she thought about the stark differences in how she felt about Doctor Melendez. 

Neil had gone back up to his office to try and focus on some work. It was almost midnight and he picked up his stuff to leave. On his way out he noticed Claire’s notepad. There had to be a reason for the issues occurring when the patient's neck was tilted. He sat his stuff down and reviewed her thoughts on it. Before he knew it, it was morning and Claire entered the lounge with Shawn. He was still in his close from the previous day. “I had an idea. Actually it was yours” he looked at Claire as he handed her the iPad, “it’s right approach, just the wrong route” he said taking a sip of his coffee. “Were you here all night?” she asked. “Yeah, I saw your notes and started doing some research. Before I knew it, it was too late to leave.” He explained. “I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed” she told him “No, it’s fine, if you hadn’t gotten as far as you did we wouldn’t be here now” he smiled. “That smile” she thought to herself. “I’d follow you anywhere” Claire shook her head as if to run the thoughts out. “I’m going to take a quick shower and change; then we’ll go talk to the patient.” He told them both before leaving.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm fully convinced there was a few days or almost a week between the time of the therapist visit from the previous show and the earthquake. There's a reason when she started to say something he said "don't." He knew it was going to be personal and emotional and he wasn't ready. So, here's my best attempt at filling in that time. It'll probably be wrapped up by later today :)

Claire walked into Melendez’s office as he was packing up. “Finn’s exam was normal, but I am not sure it was worth the risk” she admitted. “We did a good thing today. Mostly because of you” he said leaning back on the front of his desk. “That’s kind of you to say” she says shyly. “Your commitment to your patients reminds me of why I got into medicine.” He tells her with a pause. Being around you makes me a better surgeon. A better person” he tells her now looking directly at her. Claire didn’t know what to say or do. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel his lips on hers so badly. Did he understand the underlying meaning of her statement? Is that what caused him to open up? Or was he just being a good mentor and friend? She wasn’t sure. “Well goodnight” she smiled. “goodnight” he replied as she turned to leave. She was supposed to meet Dash for dinner, but all she could think about was Neil and her regret. “Focus Claire,” she told herself as she got in the car. She had to push back these feelings. She was sure she was reading Melendez wrong. 

She and Dash had dinner, and he mentioned going to Yosemite next weekend since she was off. He was giving fun descriptions about embracing their inner “tree hugger” and she laughed. Her heart wasn’t there though. “I think I’m gonna call it an early night,” she said “Are you sure?” he asked “we don’t have to go to the club we could hang out here and watch a movie” he offered. “I’m sure, I’ve got an early day tomorrow” she replied. Dash knew they weren’t meant to be more than friends and could see that it was weighing on Claire also. She got her stuff. “I’ll see you later” she smiled and headed out the door. 

Claire resisted the urge to drive to Melendez's apartment. Instead, she contacted her therapist and asked if they could talk. “You ready to tell me what’s on your mind?” the therapist asked. “Not really” Claire replied, struggling. “I… I think I’m in love with my boss” she admits. “What makes you think that?” the therapist asked. “He is amazing and brilliant, I’m able to be me around him and he still sees good. He makes me want to be better.” She replied. “Do you think that he feels the same way about you?” she asked. “I… I don’t know” Claire answered her knees nervously bouncing. “When I left tonight, we were talking and he told me that I made him a better surgeon, and a better person” she explains. “Tell me I’m wrong and how to move past this please” she ask her face now in her hands. “Maybe he feels the same way you do Claire” the therapist replied. Claire sat in shock, he couldn’t, could he. “What do I do?” she asked. “I’d suggest that you talk to him. You’re friends, who have spent time together away from work. During that time find a way to ask him. I’m not saying it’s the best idea to be in love with your boss but you have to work this out and find out what it is” her therapist offered. 

The next morning Claire started her rounds early and checked on Finn. He was doing well and in great spirits. She texted Shaun to let him know she had gotten their rounds started. She went to the lounge to grab a coffee when Melendez walked in. “Hey” he greeted with an awkward smile. “Hey” she smiled back putting sugar in her coffee. “You’re started early today” he commented grabbing some coffee himself also. “Yeah, maybe I can avoid some of Shaun’s heartbreak today” she laughed. “Yeah, he texted me a few minutes ago and said he was sick so if you need anything today just let me know” he told her as he picked up his cup to go into his office. “Hey” she called, and he turned around. “You up for that bowling re-match tonight?” she asked. Neil felt like his face must be glowing and he tried to control his smile. “Yeah. Definitely, if you think you’re ready” he teased. “Oh, I’m ready” she replied with her own mischievous grin.

The day seemed to go on forever and nothing overly interesting was happening. Now, she was done early and there wasn’t much else to do so she went and worked on some labs. Mostly to distract herself from thinking about Melendez.


	6. Chapter 6

He was already at the bowling alley when she got there. “I knew it” she smiled. “You came to practice before I got in” she pressed her lips together. “You’re nervous aren’t you” she laughed. “I’m terrified” he replied flatly before smiling and handing her the shoes. She got her ball and headed down the lane. She managed to knock down a good section leaving one one each side of the lane. Walking back to get her ball Neil gives her a look with one eyebrow up. She smiles and takes her second shot, right down the middle missing them both. Turning around she sees Neil chuckling. He picks up his ball and heads down the lane. “Strike” Claire covers her eyes and shakes her head. Neil shrugs innocently. She takes her next turn, knocks down the pins on the right. “Ok, ok” she tells herself. “Um you missed those over there” Neil comments pointing at the left side. Claire sticks out her tongue. “Watch and learn” she says as she makes her second attempt. *Gutter ball* she stops her foot on the ground. “I think the problem, is that you were a little too far to the right that time” Neil comments. “Oh take your turn” she says rolling her eyes. He grabs his ball and confidently makes his stride up to the lane when like a ninja Claire comes up beside him and says, “don’t miss!” causing him to prematurely drop the ball and go into the gutter. Claire giggles and walks away. “That!” he said “was cheating” he tells her trying to keep a straight face. “What?” she throws her hand over her heart in mock hurt. “I was just trying to help” she stifles a laugh. He takes his second attempt but is distracted as he keeps an eye out for her again. “You” he points at her as he walks back towards the chair. “Me?” she says innocently. She takes her turn and gets four pins down. “I’m grabbing another drink, want anything?” he asked as she gets her ball for a second attempt. “I’ll take a beer” she smiles but is cautious walking up thinking he may be planning payback. She knocked all the pins down and throws her arms up and fist to the sky. She turns around but he’s not there. The disappointment is on her face as he walks up with their drinks. “Here you go” he hands her one. “Thanks” she smiles “You o..” he starts to ask before noticing she got a split. “You got a split!” he says happily and notices her mood change as he holds up his hand for a high five. “I knew I’d teach you something” he laughs and almost chokes on the beer he tries to swallow. She smacks his arm playfully. Her phone buzzes and she pulls it out of her jacket pocket. “How’s Dash?” he ask uncomfortably as he sits down beside her. It’s not a subject he really wants to talk about, but that was probably him and he doesn’t want to make this weird. “He’s good” she says with a smile as she looks down. “Everything ok?” he asks. “Yeah. Stupid telemarketing text telling me about a car warranty for a car I don’t have” she shook her head and laughed. “Ah” he said not wanting to push the subject. “Guess I should go” he said sitting down his beer and grabbing the bowling ball. “We broke up. If you call it that? We weren’t every really together, so maybe we just decided it was best not to?” she admitted as he grabbed his ball. Suddenly Neal couldn’t quite think straight and he paused for a second as he got the ball. He bowled his turn knocking down one pin. “Oh, I’m sorry” he told her trying to judge how she felt. He grabbed his ball for his second attempt, this time all the pins fell. “Of course” Claire mouthed and shook her head. Neil laughed at her annoyance. “What made you decide to end it?” he asked sitting beside her. She laughed nervously. “I kissed him. And…. there was nothing” she explained as she turned her head to look Neil’s way. “Yeah” she nodded. “He’s great but we’re definitely just friends”  
He was so close. Her brain was starting to feel foggy. It was like gravity pulling her towards him but she had to fight it. She broke it by getting up for her turn. This time she didn’t wait for the ball to hit the pins, she immediately turned and walked back towards the chairs her brain still trying to focus and not think about Neil’s lips. The loud crashing of the ball against the pins caused her to turn around seeing that she got a strike… not realizing it was on the wrong lane. Neil stood meeting her for a high five since he wasn’t able to tell her what happened after seeing the glow in her face. He held his hands up for high fives and just as their hands met so did their lips. If he was caught off guard by the kiss he quickly recovered, kissing her back,  
one hand finding it’s way to her neck and the other to her back. They reluctantly broke the kiss as it quickly escalated. 

Standing there, their foreheads rested against each others breathing heavily. “I” Claire started to explain. “Want to get out of here?” Neil asked almost like a reflex. She looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah.” She grabbed her jacket and they changed their shoes as quickly as possible. They tried to play it as calm and cool as possible as they left. “You want to follow me to my place?” he asked hoping she hadn’t changed her mind in the short amount of time that it took for them to get to the car. “Yeah, I can do that” she smiled as she bit her bottom lip and turned towards him. This time it was his turn as he grabbed her face and kissed her again. She ran her hands down his chest and a moan escaped her mouth. “Let’s get out of here” she smiled she unlocked her door with the keyfob and he opened it for her. “See you in a few” he smiled leaning in to kiss her after she buckled her seatbelt. “Mmm..” she wanted to pull him inside the car. He reluctantly pulled back and smiled reaching in his pocket for his keys. He shut his door and walked as quickly as he could to his car a few parking spots over. It felt as though he hit every red light on the way to his house, even running the last one before realizing it and wondering if Claire got stuck. He looked in the rearview and saw she ran it to. Running one hand through his hair he chuckled as he thought about this moment and where it was leading. He couldn’t remember the last time there was this idiotic type happiness. He pulled in the drive and jumped out of the car; a second later Claire pulled in behind him. He restrained himself from running to her car and waited for her to get out. She smiled as she walked towards him and he extended his hand. Placing her hand in his he pulled her close for a kiss that quickly escalated once again. He lead her backwards to the door not breaking their kiss until he had to unlock the door. He pulled out his keys to unlock the door and she ran her hands over his body causing him to fumble with the keys. “You make it hard to concentrate” he laughed. “I’m not having trouble” she reached her hand around his waist and down to the hard spot in his pants. “Fu…” he started as he got the key to finally unlock the door. They stepped inside and he pushed the door close behind them, as he pulled her close and kissed her neck his hands running down her body finding their way to her butt and pulling her closer to him. “Neil” she breathed heavily which only encouraged him more. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he made his way to the couch. Falling back she was now sitting on his lap as they made out like teenagers. She grinded against him as she kissed his neck. “You have no idea how bad I want you” he moaned running his hands through her hair. “I think I do” she said pulling back and removing her shirt. He ran his hands down her bare sides then up her back to remove her bra. She tossed her head back and bit her lip as his mouth found her breast. She squeezed his shoulders, “ugh you have too many clothes on” she said frustrated. “We can fix that” he said giving her that grin. She started to quickly unbutton his shirt when he pulled the rest free causing her to giggle. She reached down and undid his belt buckle as he flipped her over to her back and kissed her down her stomach to her the waist over her pants. Her hands now over her head on the arm of the couch. He unbuttoned the pants as she lifted herself so he could remove them. She had on black lace panties, he always imagined she was a sexy lingerie type even if no one else was seeing it. He kissed her leg, then her stomach before placing his teeth at the top of her panties. “Ooooh” she moaned one hand still on the arm of the couch the other in his hair. “Is this ok?” he asked teasing “Yes, yes. Please” she almost begged which drove him crazy. He ran this thumb over her panties feeling the wetness coming through. “Neil” she moaned her chest pushed out. He wanted to tease her and draw this out but he was going to explode in the process. He stood up and the sudden cold she felt caused her eyes to open unsure, but she was his hand extended and put hers in his as he pulled her up. He lifted her as she pressed her body to his kissing him passionately. He carried her to the bedroom tossing her back on the bed. She grinned widely and licked her lips. He removed his pants and boxers as she watched taking all of him in. As badly as he wanted to take this slow it wasn’t going to happen. The way she looked at him was like a dream. He started at her ankle and planted kisses, making his way to her knee before she couldn’t take much more. “Neil.”she propped herself up on her elbows, head back. “hmmm” he hummed his mouth making its way to her upper thigh. “F**k me” she asked, or more so commanded. Her hand now trying to reach him. He moved up to her neck to kiss in the intention to tease a little further when her hand found his hardness and stroked it. “F..” he moaned in her neck. Claire laughed knowing that it wasn’t just her that was losing their mind. He leaned back and she looked at him in anticipation. Lifting her legs onto his shoulders he entered slowly. “Oh F**k” he almost yelled “you feel so good” his hand on the headboard as he thrust his hips forward. “MMMM’ Claire moaned her hands on his thigh. “Yeah… yeah, mmm” she said as he continued. Seeing her like this drove him wild. Neil wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold off. “F**k me hard” Claire instructed which set Neil into overdrive. “MMMm” she moaned her chest pushed outward, hands grabbing the sheets. “Claire” he moaned losing control. Her legs dropped to his side and he rested on top of her as they breathed heavily. He ran his hand up her stomach to her breast causing her to shiver. “hmmm..mm” she tried to compose herself. Neil chuckled. “You are amazing” he said his eyes searching her face. “You’re pretty amazing yourself” she replied wrapping her arms around his neck. He began to slowly pull out then back into her. “mmm” she moaned as her lips pressed towards his. “You’ve made a mess” he joked “Me??” she shot back and laughed. “Feels like a slip and slide” he replied as his movements continued. She wrapped her legs around him.. and shivered again as his touch sent waves through her body. “It’s warm in here” she laughed. He pulled out from her and laid beside her instantly making her feel the cold. “ooh” she shivered. “I thought you were warm” he asked with a laugh. “Until you left” she playfully smacked his arm. “I’m not going anywhere” he pushed the curl back from her face. “I’m sticky” she laughed. “You weren’t complaining a second ago” he joked grabbing her side causing her to jump. “Maybe a shower would help” he suggested. “hmmm” she raised her eyebrows and smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

Neil turned on the water and waited for it to warm. Claire pulled her hair up in a hair tie and stepped in. He took the soap container and put some in his hand before setting it down. Wrapping his arms around her he spread the soap on her back as she leaned in close to him kissing his neck. He continued to soap her body up as he kissed her neck making his way to her ear whispering in it “I’ll help you clean-up” causing her to move her head back and pull him closer. “It’s only fair if I return the favor” she smiles putting soap in her own hands as she starts to lather his chest.  
The next morning, Neil wakes up, Claire in his arms towels on the floor. He doesn’t remember the last time he actually woke up “holding” someone and smiles. The morning light comes through the blinds and he wishes he had remembered to close the blackout curtains. Claire starts to stir and opens her eyes. “Morning,” he says smiling. “Morning” she smiles back. “Want some coffee?” he asks as she sits upholding the sheets against her. “Yeah, that sounds good” she replies as kisses her forehead and then moves to put on his boxers. “If you want a tshirt of something they’re in the second drawer there,” he tells her as he starts to exit the bedroom. “Thanks” she smiles. He suddenly sticks his head back in the room, “not that close are required or anything” he says with a wink. She covers her face with her hand and laughs. 

“This really happened,” she thinks to herself as she looks around and sees his pants on the floor, towels on the other side. She smiles, wondering if this is how it is supposed to feel. 

Neal puts a pod in the Keurig and makes a cup, getting the second one ready while he waits. “Idiotic happiness” he chuckles to himself as he thinks about it. That’s exactly how he feels. He opens the fridge to see what he has in there to offer for breakfast. He skipped his normal store run earlier in the week. 

Claire walks into the living room to find her clothes and slips on her panties. Neil turns around to see her. “I was going to offer to make breakfast but skipped my store run” he laughs nervously. “I’ve got cold pizza” he shrugs “I can run out real quick and get something,” he says grabbing the coffee and meeting her at the counter. “Cold pizza sounds delicious” she says smiling as her eyes roam his body and she moves closer to kiss his neck. They are interrupted by his phone ringing. “Ugh” he lets out as he steps back and grabs the pizza box from the fridge sitting it on the counter while he grabs his phone. “Hello?” he answers. Claire watches intently wondering what it is.. “That sounds fun, I can’t tonight though. Yeah. Mhmm. Definitely let me know next time.” He hangs up and turns around, “bizarre” he says with a laugh. Looking at her he can see she’s curious but doesn’t want to ask. “Dr. Andrews, Marcus, had someone drop out of a poker game and called to ask if I wanted to join.” He explains. “Oh” she replies her eyes moving from him to the coffee in her hands. He’s wondering if regret is setting in after mentioning something from work. He’s almost afraid to ask. “Want me to warm this up?” he asked opening the pizza box. “Um,” she says pausing for a second and seeing the slightly worried look on his face “no, I like it cold” she smiles. He grabs two plates and gets them each a slice and they walk over to the couch. “This is good,” she says taking a second bite. “It’s a little place around the corner. They have great bread too” he replies as he takes another bite. “Mmm,” she nods. “So, you and Dr. Andrews play cards?” she asked as she sat her plate down. “Uh” he makes a face “no, not really which is what makes it funny that he called to ask” he laughs a little. “Oh,” Claire says looking around the room. An awkward feeling was setting in and Neil hated it. He should have never answered the phone or brought up Andrews. If it had been the hospital the caller id would have said it. “About last night…us,” he starts and her eyes now dart over to him, looking slightly like a deer in headlights. He looks at her trying to find the words to see if she’s ok with it. “it was incredible” he tells her putting his hand on her leg. She smiles “yeah, it was,” she says looking down then meeting his gaze again. “I know it complicates things but I think it’s worth it. I mean, I’m not trying to push you, if you’re not comfortable, then that is ok..” he starts to ramble and she leans forward to stop him with a kiss. “So you’re ok?” he asks. “Yeah. I’m ok” she replies. “I just think we need to keep this as separate at work as possible.” She tells him. “Agreed” he nods. “Although the things I’d like to do with you on my desk..” he begins and she playfully smacks his chest as she moves onto his lap. 

A little while later they are watching tv when her phone buzzes. “Ugh,” she says aggravated. “What is it?” he asks concerned. “Shaun. He’s asking me to cover his shift because he’s…” she holds up dramatic air quotes “sick” she rolls her eyes. “He needs to get his damn ass in gear and get over this” Neil replies annoyed. “It’s fine” she says as she replies to the text. “I’m sorry” he tells her realizing he probably shouldn’t have snapped. She leans over and kisses him “it’s fine, just means he’ll owe me for a shift” she smiles. “Now the only problem is not sitting in the lounge and fantasizing about your desk,” she tells him saucily. Neil laughs, “maybe I should go in too.” Claire kisses him again “oh you could go to the store and stock up for later” she gives him a wink. “Come back as soon as it’s over?” he asks his hands resting on her hips. “Yeah” she smiles. “I better get going though since he waited until the last minute to ask” she says giving one last kiss that he tries to deepen. “I’m gonna kill Murphy,” he says as she gets up. “I’ll see you shortly” she smiles as she grabs her pants from the floor.

Her shift was slow, and she already didn’t want to be there. However, she had to be and she couldn’t let Neil be a distraction. To do this they were going to have to be discreate. Four hours into her shift she had completed her second set of rounds and was headed into the lounge when she noticed Neil at his computer. A mischievous smile crept across her lips. “Doctor Melendez, I thought you were off today” she ask. “I was, but there was some things I needed to catch up on so I decided to come in for a little bit” he explained. “Ah, I see” she smiled looking down as she played with a strand of her hair. Looking back up she noticed an odd look on his face. Turning around she saw Morgan coming in. “Hey Morgan, what are you doing here?” she asked. “I have surgery in a couple days so I wanted to get in as much as I could before then since I’ll be out for a bit.” “Oh.” Claire replied, “Shaun called out and asked me to cover but if you’re here and you want to..” she said shrugging. “Yeah. Why not” Morgan replied. “Great” Claire smiled. “Well,” she rocked back on her heels “I will see the two of you later. Good luck on your surgery” she said as she glanced at Morgan and then Melendez. “Thanks” Morgan replied. “Enjoy your day off” Melendez said looking up from his computer. “I didn’t know you were in today” Morgan said as she headed towards the door to the lounge. “Oh, I’m not, I just needed to finish up a couple things.” He replied as he finished typing. “I know how it is!” she responded her eyes widening at her thoughts of all she wanted to get done before being out with the surgery. “I’m going to head out too, good luck on your surgery though.” He said closing the laptop. “Thanks Doctor Melendez” she smiled as she left. Neil tried to pace himself getting things together as much as he wanted to run and catch up with Claire. He pulled out his phone to text her “leaving now.” He waited a second to see if she would reply but didn’t so he put the phone in his pocket and headed out. He walked into the garage towards his car and saw her leaning against hers smiling. “Geez. Took you long enough” she laughed. “Some of us have important work to do. Like emptying our inbox trashbin” he smiled as he stepped closer. Claire gave him a big smile. “Well then. I’m glad you were able to finish.” She replied. He looked over at her “I want to kiss you so bad” she broke this gaze looking down. “Me too, but not here. Want to race?” she asked mischievously. “Ha! You’re on!” he grins. She jumps in her car and pulls out as he gets into his. She pulls into his driveway first and jumps out “Winner!” holding her hands up. “You went over the speed limit. Doesn’t count” he shrugged. “Ha. Whatever” she rolls her eyes as they walk towards the door. “Ok, I guess that means I owe you some dinner” he jokes opening the door to let her in. Her eyes sparkling, she gives him a quick kiss. He could get very used to this. 

“How’s chicken tacos sound?” he asked as they walked in. “I love chicken tacos!” she replied. He walked over and checked the chicken he had put in the crockpot. “Need any help?” she asked. “Wanna those tortillas?” he asked gesturing to the other side of the counter. He stuck them in a pan to warm. 

“These are so good” she said taking another bite. “Thanks” he smiled. “Want to watch something?” he asked picking up the remote. “Sure” she smiled contently. He scrolled through not sure what to pick. “Oh! When Harry met Sally” she laughed. He looked over at her curiously. “It’s cute” she shrugged. “Plus, the deli scene” she laughed before re-enacting it and laughing. He sat back and watched. “I have no idea what you’re talking about but will watch it if you do that again.” He grinned. She laughed as she leaned the opposite way of him, and he pulled her over to him. “C’mere you” he said holding her close as the movie started.


	8. Chapter 8 (final)

The next morning Claire woke up to an empty bed. She looked around for a second before she heard sizzling and an “ow!.” Getting up she slipped on one of Neil’s t-shirts and walked to the kitchen to find him making breakfast. “You ok?,” she asked with a chuckle. “Yeah. Uh, ugh” he said stepping back laughing at himself. “Probably not recommended to fry bacon shirtless” he smiles looking her way. “Oh, I don’t know, it looks good to me” she smiled biting her lip. Neil could almost feel himself blushing. Claire looked around “oh, are you saying you want this back?” she asked pretending to pull the shirt up. “No, no” he answered as a reflex not wanting her to think the shirt was an issue until he saw her playful expression. “Actually, I might need it” he grinned as he stepped closer towards her wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss. They were interrupted by the timer going off. “Ah, it’s done” Neil said reluctantly letting go. “MMM… That smells delicious!” she said as the oven opened. “French Toast” he replied as he sat the hot pan down and then grabbed a bowl of fruit from the fridge. “Surgeon and chef, quiet impressive” she titled her head to the side and smiled as she looked at him. “I have to try and keep up with you somehow” he replied wanting to let her know just how amazing he thought she was. “oh please” she shook her head and laughed. He put some French toast on her plate, and handed it to her. “Thank you” she said as she got a spoon to add fruit. Neil got his plate as well and they sat down at the table. “This is amazing” she said placing her hand over his. He smiled “I’m glad you like it. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, I haven’t tried it in years” he replied taking another bite. “I’ve never had French toast before, but I’m pretty sure this is perfection” she replied before taking a sip of her coffee. “You’ve never had French toast?!” Neil asked. “No, as a kid it was cereal, pop tarts or and an egg and as an adult I just hadn’t tried it yet” she shrugged. Neil sat for a second. “So I was your first” he replied trying to keep a straight face. Claire almost choked on her food as she started to laugh holding up her finger “hmm, yes” she wiped her mouth still chuckling. “What was your favorite breakfast food growing up?” he asked “Mmm” she said as she pressed her lips together thinking. “Strawberry Poptarts” she says with a nod. “I think for a while I ate them every day.” She laughed. “What about you?” she asked. “Captain Crunch, but dry without milk” he replied before adding “or cold pizza, which I’m still a fan of” he shrugged. Claire laughed. “Well since you made this amazing breakfast, I’ll take care of the dishes” she said as she put his plate on hers to carry to the sink. He put his hand on her arm “I’ll get it” he smiled pulling her to his lap. “I can do it” she smiled “I know, I’m just like you close” he said as his hand ran up her thigh. “mmm” she nuzzled his neck. “God you’re beautiful,” he said as he kissed her shoulder, his hands moving up her side. Claire sat up and lifted her arms for him to remove the shirt. It quickly escalated in the chair, then to the table, then the bedroom.   
“Is that what you call breakfast and cardio?” Claire asked catching her breath. Neil chuckled, “full-service breakfast.” Claire looked over with a smile “damn straight.” Neil’s phone dinged “Ugh” he said as he reached over to get it. “Oh” his face relaxed and he sat it back down. “what is it?” Claire asked. “Nothing, Glassman was emailing to find out if I planned on going to this brewery opening that an old patient of ours invited us to.” He explained. “Oh, is it today?” she asked “No, it’s the day after tomorrow” he replied. “You could see if Shaun would cover your shift and you could just happen to be there also” he suggested. Claire laughed, “sounds enticing but probably not the best idea, especially with the President of the hospital going.” She said scrunching up her nose. “Yeah maybe” Neil laughed. Claire turned her arm to look at her elbow. “You ok?” he asked “Yeah, yeah” she said still inspecting. “I think there’s some syrup on the back of my arm” she laughed. “I don’t know how” Neil said holding a straight face. “Mmmhmmm I bet you don’t” she laughed. “I think I need a shower” she said as she got up. “I can help” He replied his eyebrows raised. She smiled and held out her hand as he got up to follow her. 

After their shower they played a couple rounds of scrabble, trying to see who could come up with the absolute best words. After Claire beat him the second time he decided they should switch things up. “Have you ever played Texas Hold Em?” he asked. “No” she replied. “Ahh. I’ll teach you” he replied going to grab a deck of cards. “Ok, but if I beat you, you can’t complain” she laughed. “I am the king of poker,” he said confidently. “Oh you definitely know what you’re doing” Claire replied with a grin. “You make it hard you know that right?” he asked referring to her making it hard to concentrate on anything else. “So I’ve seen” she replied resting her chin in her hand. No woman had ever caught him quiet off balance as Claire had. “Out of the gutter Browne” he laughed not really minding it at all. Claire shrugged innocently, “me?” Neil just shook his head and dealt the cards explaining how the game worked. He beat her the first round. “This time we wager” he joked. “Wager? I just learned how to play” she replied. “Well if you aren’t ready to wager that’s ok” he answered. “No, I’m ready” she said confidently. He grabbed some M&M’s out of his pantry. “This will be our currency,” he said giving her a handful. By the end of the hand, Claire had all of his M&M’s. “I think I’m getting the hang of it” she joked. He stuck his tongue out at her making her laugh. She looked over at the clock. “I should probably head home tonight, get some clothes, give you some space to deal with being beat” she said straightening the cards. “That’s your excuse because your win was a fluke and you know I’d beat you the next time.” He said smiling. “It’s going to be difficult not to stare when we get back to work” he said brushing a curl from her face. “At work, I’m just a resident like any other. We can’t let this affect that.” She replied. “It won’t, it was hard to concentrate before sometimes too” he says seriously. Claire blushes, “tell me about it” she laughs. “One more night?” he asks. “I’ve got to go pick up some clothes, but yeah” she smiles as she leans over to kiss him. 

The next morning they reluctantly get up. He has to be in first and tells her she’s welcome to stay until her shift. “’I’m going to go in and do a few labs to get in some practice” she says as she gets dressed. He kisses her passionately before the head out the door. “It’s going to be a long day” he says shaking his head before giving her one more kiss. “Oh please, you have a party to go to tonight” she laughs “Won’t be as much fun without you” he replies with a smile that once again makes her feel weak. Getting into her car she smiles, “Here we go” as she backs out of his driveway.


End file.
